Faal Daal do faal Dovahkiin (The Return of the Dragonborn)
by Lucentyr
Summary: Since the Dragonborn's disappearance, life in Skyrim and its people have fallen into despair and ruin as dragons take rule over the land and sky. After the loss of her brother, Arriane decides to leave her home behind to try and make a life of her own. That is until she stumbles across Vahlok. And did I mention the Dark Brotherhood is hunting her down?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1:**

A shiver fingered its way down Arriane's spine as she trekked through the terrain of one of Skyrim's many unforgiving forests. For what felt like at least the tenth time she glanced over her shoulder at the towering trees behind her and saw nothing, but that didn't stop the hairs on the back of her neck from standing on end.

"What are you doing, Arriane?" She mumbled under her breath.

Her green eyes scanned the trees as a soft breeze caressed her cheek, she swiped a few annoying golden strands of hair from her face. Something wasn't right. She could vaguely hear her brother's voice whispering his teachings in her mind; _Trust your instincts_. Quickly she pushed the thought from her mind _No! I will not think about him_ she firmly told herself as her heart ached. All Arriane wanted was to be back at home surrounded by those cold and foreboding stone walls of the city, the glittering gold of the Dwemer ruins that made up Markarth, curled up by the fire with Vorstag as he told her stories of their parents and what life was like in the great city of Solitude. But that was impossible, Vorstag was gone and she was no longer welcome in the city because of it.

Ignoring the bleak feeling that was clawing its way through her stomach, she fiddled nervously with the straps of the supple leather armour that clung to her slender frame before she quickened her pace and moved on. She needed to do something, anything! With a deep breath she made the split second decision to go hunting.

After a few hours of unsuccessful foraging and quick glances behind her, she found a place to set up camp for the night. It was a little clearing surrounded by the thick trunks of towering pine trees. Once she'd wondered around and scavenged enough resources for a fire, the blonde crouched by an old log, long eaten out by termites. She crammed her hand inside, dragged out as much muck as she could and slid her ebony bow inside it before heaping leaves around the precious weapon to conceal it further. Sighing heavily, she dropped to the ground and tucked her arm underneath her cheek, she needed a rest desperately.

* * *

_It was a cold grey dawn in Markarth when Arriane shuffled weakly towards the huge golden gates of the dwemer city. Thoughts of the nights horrible events plagued her, flashbacks of blood, people's faces, her brother, everything, swam across her vision causing her to stumble. Arriane whimpered softly as every step she took caused pain to rip its way up her side strong'just a few more steps Arriane'/strong she told herself when the great golden doors to the city blossomed into view. But just as the thought crossed her mind her legs gave out, thankfully one of the ever vigilant guards had rushed to her aid and caught her before her head cracked against the ground. After that her mind went black._

* * *

Slowly Arriane began to wake from her slumber only to find the hairs on the back of her neck standing on end. Through squinted eyes, she shot a drowsy glance around the clearing to find nothing out of the ordinary. With a growl of annoyance, she rolled back onto her side, scolding herself for being stupid. That's when the hand clamped itself around her mouth.

She felt the weight of someone crouching over her, pinning her arms to her sides with their legs. Without thinking, she screamed, only to find her voice muffled by the hand that was not only cutting off her voice but her oxygen as well.

"Hush now, it's not like anyone will hear you scream," A man hissed in her ear, his hands releasing her mouth only to swiftly shove a wad of material between her teeth. She felt him tug something that she assumed was the knot, behind her head and the gag tightened securely. "Now be a good girl, will you?"

That mocking voice made her struggle and thrash merely to find her hands and feet had been bound. A malicious laugh filled the unusually quiet night air somewhere off to her left, she cocked her head in the general direction before her attacker sauntered into her view. Arriane stared; he was tall and quite muscular, his amour, which clung to his body, was dyed red and black; the favoured colours of the Dark Brotherhood. Of course to top off the complete murderous ensemble; he wore a hood that was pulled low over his head to hide all of his facial features, with the exemption of his lips, which were currently curled in a feral sneer.

"Mmhhhmm muhmm!"

He chuckled."What was that sweetie? I couldn't hear you." Arriane glared at him, her eyes burning with hate and what she expected was quite a bit of fear. "Oh, don't look so unhappy, I'm being quite civil here. Let me prove it." He told her as he undid the gag.

"Bastard!"

"Tsk tsk, that's not very lady like. I can put it back on if you like?"

_What a smartass!_

A soft growl escaped Arriane's lips. She forced herself to look into the black shadows of the man's hood. "Who are you? What do you want from me?" To her credit, she sounded braver than she felt, which…Well wasn't very brave at all.

He chuckled again. "What do you think?"

"I think you should let me go." She hissed. The assassin cocked his head, as if listening to the wind, and stared at her as a break in clouds allowed a sliver of moonlight to escape and light up her face. Was he actually considering letting her go? "Hello? I deserve an answer about why you're going to kill me!"

But the assassin didn't hear her; instead he threw his dagger with such force that it pierced into the ground, and stormed into the forest. Arriane stared after him in confusion for a few minutes before remembering the fallen dagger. Quickly she scrambled towards it through the thick undergrowth, ignoring the branches and stones that scuffed her face and bit into her leather armour, manoeuvred the blade until she had finally managed to cut through her bonds.

Silently she rubbed at her wrists where the ropes had rubbed at her flesh and glared into the now unwelcoming forest, a burning hate budding inside her, she still had her amour and now she had another weapon; she made up her mind. Silently she stalked towards the old log, grabbing her bow from its nest of leaves and darted off into the darkened forest, hopefully hot on the heels of her attacker.

* * *

She didn't know how long she'd been running for, her body ached and begged for her to stop but she pressed on, she wasn't going to stop. At least that's what she thought until she heard a soft thud and seconds later felt a searing pain shoot through her thigh.

"Ah shit!" She cried as her leg gave way and she collapsed on the ground; dropping the stolen dagger she had clutched in her hands. Her teeth latched onto her bottom lip in a lame attempt to muffle her whimper of pain as she glanced at her leg, seeing a steel dagger protruding from her leg whilst blood gushed from the wound, staining the forest floor with a pool of deep crimson.

"You should be careful about who you decide to follow, especially when it's someone as dangerous as I am." That stupid voice called from behind her.

"Fuck you…" Arriane snarled as the assassin revealed himself yet again and just as cocky as he had been back in the clearing.

"You have quite the temper don't you?" He asked and flashed a smile, like a streak of white lightning crackling through the night sky.

"I wonder why?" She asked sarcastically. "I mean of course I'll use manners around the man who threatened to murder me, then ran off while leaving me tied up and then put a dagger through my bloody _leg_!" She glared at him. "Wait...Are you _laughing_?!"

"Well yes, it's not every day I get a contract as fiery as you," He stood there thoughtfully for a second before continuing. "In fact, I don't think I've ever had one stupid enough to chase after me when I've let them live." He finished simply, his words clearly implying that he thought she was a complete moron.

"I'm not stupid!" She shouted only to earn yet another laugh from him as he turned and walked back into the trees. "Oh no you don't." Arriane hissed as she pulled her bow from her back and notched an arrow. Taking a deep breath she pulled the string taught and aimed. _Hold it, steady...steady, NOW!_ The arrow sliced through the air, only to miss him by mere millimetres, and thump into a nearby tree. Arriane watched his entire body stiffen before he whirled on her; even though she couldn't see them she could feel his eyes boring into her skull.

"Oh shit…" She muttered. Desperately she tried to scramble away as best as one could with a knife sticking out of their leg. But there was only so long she could delay the inevitable. It wasn't long before she felt his arm snake its way around her throat, holding her in a chock-hold as his muscles slowly began to constrict, making each breath harder and more pained.

"Don't. Move. A. Muscle." He hissed. "Because I could snap this scrawny little neck of yours, you little bitch."

Arriane squirmed, not that it did any good. In fact, he just tightened his grip until her face began to turn an odd shade of purple and she closed her eyes, whimpering softly.

"Good. Now tell me, why would you try and shoot me after I've been so generous?"

"Because I'm scared." She managed to choke out.

"I didn't quite catch that."

"I said it's because I'm scared!" She snapped, spit spluttered from her mouth as she choked against his arm. Shockingly, she felt the muscles in his arms and body relax slightly, loosening just enough for her to breathe with ease.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He whispered in her ear, it was so soft that she nearly missed it.

"Wh-what?" she stuttered in disbelief. "Why? You said-."

He cut her off, his voice harsh. "I didn't say I was going to kill you! I just needed...information." Slowly he released her and got to his feet. He dusted himself off with a soft huff of annoyance before he stared at her until she began to feel uncomfortable. "Let me fix your leg."

It was the only warning he gave her before he wrapped his hand the leather wrapped hilt of the dagger and yanked it out with a simple jerk of his hand, causing Arriane to scream in pain. He made it look so easy so simple, as if he did it every day…Well, being an assassin he probably did, _ninety nine percent sure that's his whole job description, Arriane. Stab, kill, retrieve said stabby tool and repeat_. Painfully she watched as the man dressed her wound, so many questions formed in her head; what information did he want? Why did he leave without trying to get it? Or did he get it? Was he trying to trick her into trusting him? Was he just going to let her go? And if not how was she going to escape? _And what about the whole WHY ARE YOU LETTING HIM HELP question. Though that's for me to answer, not him. Don't actually ask that to him, gods._

"Ow, ow! What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm trying to stitch it together, I don't know any healing spells so it's the best I can do."

At the mention of stitches the blood drained from her face. By the gods she hated needles! With a shiver she turned away, trying not to gag at the sight of the thin piece of steel being threaded in and out of her flesh

"Done," he announced proudly. Arriane watched as he stood back smiled at his handy work as if it were some sick piece of artwork. "And I think we should camp here for the night."

"We?" She asked suspiciously. "Who said I want to stay with you at all?"

"I did. Do you want to be fed to the wolves? Because if you stay here by yourself that's exactly what will happen." He said.

Arriane wanted to argue with this mysterious annoying man but deep down she knew he was right; she wasn't in any state to survive by herself now that she was.

"Oh fine," She hissed grudgingly as she saw him flash a small smile at her.

* * *

_Alright, before anyone asks, yes, this is a re-uploaded story. I'm revamping all of my fics, if you want more info feel free to read my account info or message me. Feel free to comment and such. I'll try to upload chapters as often as I can but please bear in mind life can get busy so if a chapter hasn't arrived after a few days don't panic, just wait it out. _

_Just for the sake of covering my ass, Bethesda owns everything except little Arri. She's all mine._

_P.S. This was such a pain in the ass to edit, I honestly don't like it. The first upload was edited to my taste but screwed up majorly so please forgive any editing mistakes._


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2:**

* * *

_"Please let me come with you Arriane," Vorstag begged._

_"You know I can't do that! I have to do this on my own, I need to prove that I can do these jobs and that I'm not some worthless little girl who doesn't know what she's doing!" Arriane yelled desperately._

_"Don't look at me like that!" She added softly when she saw the frown her brother shot her._

_"Why?" He asked. "Why d'you think that putting yourself in dangerous situations is going to prove that you're perfectly capable at doing these jobs? Can't you just fight a couple of the guards or something?"_

_"No, it doesn't work that way. They aren't about to risk hurting some girl, you know that. Besides we need the money." Arriane mumbled._

_She hated that she was hurting Vorstag like this when all he wanted to do was protect her from the cruelties of the outside world. Ever since her mother and father died he'd taken extra effort to keep her out of harm's way her and she had done everything to try and please him. _

_She could still remember that horrible day when she had found her mother hanging from the rafters in their old house in Solitude, Arriane was about six years old when it happened and she'd never forget that day. Her aunt had blamed their father; she'd said that if he hadn't let Ulfric escape after the murder of the High King none of this would have happened. Arriane knew better than that, she knew her father was a good man that had been framed but ever since then all she ever wanted to do was make Vorstag happy and to help him no matter what the cost was._

_Usually Arriane went about running errands for the local market stall owners when they could not make a delivery themselves or they needed something to be fetched for them. She had not loved the jobs but they always gave her more gold than she wanted and for that she was grateful. But never had she gone to the Jarl for a job before, well at least not until things had started to go downhill, now that Arriane and Vorstag were both adults the gold from the stall owners just wasn't enough to buy all the necessities they needed to live and to pay the inn keeper rent for their rooms. _

_So when Vorstag took up jobs in the mines for coin Arriane became Markarth's most unexpected mercenary and bounty hunter._

* * *

"Hey, hey wake up," a faraway voice murmured as she tried to rid herself of the horrible memories that plagued her dreams. "Wake up!" The voice said again, this time it was louder. That's when something cold hit her right in the face causing her to jump back into reality. With a startled gasp she jerked upright in her bedroll. Water dripped from her hair and down the tip of her nose whilst the rest had already begun to pool underneath her. She glared at the assassin crouching beside her; a wooden pale was clutched in his hands. He shrugged at her, the beginnings of a smirk toyed at the corners of his mouth.

"Sorry, but you looked like you were having a nightmare."

"So you threw a bucket of water at me?" She snapped.

"Well yes, but in my defence I did try to wake you up the normal way."

Shivering and muttering something about males being complete idiots, Arriane stormed out of her cosy little tent and into the cool morning air. From the looks of the marmalade sky that was flecked with splashes of pinks and blues, it was just after dawn. A soft autumn breeze lightly kissed at her bare flesh, turning her damp skin to ice, instantly regretting her decision to leave the warmth of her tent and sleeping roll; she sat as close to the tiny fire as she dared.

"Here, you look like you need this." He said and passed her a fur blanket.

Annoyingly she couldn't help but smile gratefully at him as he sat across the fire from her. He began to poke around at the low coals that simmered in the bottom of the fire pit; all the while he slowly fed the flames with bits of kindling and fresh twigs. She wrapped the pelt around her shoulders and sighed contently, more than happy to curl up in a little ball and watch the tongues of flames happily dance the day away.

"So would I be wrong in presuming your name is Arriane?"

Okay, maybe the whole getting comfortable with her fireside view was a bad idea. She nearly choked and stared at him, wide eyed.

"How did you know that?"

He shrugged. "It's my job to know these sorts of things."

She thought this over silently, absently chewing at her bottom lip as she did so, he had a point and it wouldn't surprise her if she had spoken to him while he was in disguise at some point during her travels or even if he had watched her every move for who knows how long. He was an assassin. He could get all the information he wanted if he knew how to get it, she didn't doubt it one bit that he knew.

"Well what's your name then?"

"That's need to know." He said flatly.

"But I AM need to know!" Arriane pushed before jerking a finger towards her now sopping wet hair and the stitches that weaved through her skin. "I deserve that at least."

He looked at her for what felt like a lifetime, she squirmed uncomfortably under that penetrating gaze as if it could see right through her. A chill passed through her when she noticed that not even the light from the fire penetrated the shadow his hood cast over his eyes.

"Vahlok" He finally said.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"My name. It's Vahlok…"

"Oh."

"You find it weird?" He sighed as if he wasn't surprised if she did.

"No it's just, it doesn't sound like a name from our language…" Arriane commented awkwardly.

"Well aren't you an attentive one?"

His mocking only earned him a dark glare, he didn't seem to mind, and he just chuckled softly to himself and shook his head.

"What language is it?"

He smirked at her, "I think you've heard enough. Besides, you wouldn't believe me even if I told you." Slowly he stood up and stretched. "Now I think its bed time."

Arriane shook her head even though she felt a wave of exhaustion overcome her. It was daybreak, usually she'd be up by now, trekking her way to Talos knows where, she wasn't about to go back and _sleep_. That being said, by the decisive look on Vahlok's face, the poor girl wasn't about to get a say in the matter.

"Sleep. Now." The assassin ordered, jerking his finger back towards her tent. _Why did I expect to have a say_? "You've had what, five hours of sleep?"

The blonde rolled her eyes. "Yes, mother. But it's more than enough."

A low growl of annoyance slid from between the thin line of his lips, he stalked towards her and grabbed her by the elbow, pulling her to her feet. The sudden movement made her yelp as the stitched flesh of her leg tugged agonizingly against the thread holding it together. Seemingly ignoring her pained outburst, he dragged her back to the tent and shoved her in.

"Ass!" She snapped as the assassin yanked the small flap, that was used as a kind of door, shut behind him. Arriane's narrowed eyes glared at the material, listening to the sound of his fading footfalls, before she padded over to her soggy bedroll and huffed in annoyance. _Good thing he gave me his stupid blanket_. With a smirk she threw the pelt over the mess that made up her makeshift bed and Vahlok's puddle, curled up on top and drifted off into a fitful sleep.

* * *

Two days had passed, consisting of Arriane sleeping the days away, Vahlok only popping his head in to bring her food and water and gently getting her leg used to walking around without wincing every two seconds.

Now the young blonde stood facing her makeshift target of leaves that she had tied to the thick trunk of a tree with some small pieces of rope she had scrounged up whilst Vahlok was out hunting. Had he been impressed when he'd returned and found her like that? Well no. The assassin had launched himself into a full-blown rant fest about how she should be resting her leg or something. Arriane had kind of zoned out by the time he'd gotten to his point.

"Do you mind? If you keep standing there I won't hesitate to shoot you."

She jerked her chin at the notched arrow and the taught string of her bow. Now Vahlok stood in front of her. He was only thing standing between her and her target. She hated that.

As a young teen, around the age of fifteen, she had gone out to practice her archery skills with Markarth's hunting party, something that was quite unusual for a young girl. Only Vorstag's words had swayed the hunting party's decision.

They'd split up into groups of two to be more efficient. Arriane had spotted the deer and notched her bow. Her partner, a young man about eighteen, was eyeing her with only one thought in mind; shoving her against the tree behind her and taking her right then and there. He had walked right in front of her bow; her attention wavered and flickered to his face. She heard the deer run and annoyance seethed in her. Her eyes locked with his, she saw the lust in his eyes. She knew what he wanted. And then she let the arrow fly through the air. She had watched the steel tip slice through his thigh. She watched him crumple to the ground. And she hadn't cared. All she had done was walk away.

Now Vahlok was walking straight towards her, she couldn't see it, but she could feel his eyes raking over her figure. She fingers twitched as he circled her, her eyes following his every move. _Shoot and run_. She thought to herself. She wasn't really amused by the thought of having an assassin take advantage of her in any way.

"Your stance is off." He muttered as he came to a stop beside her.

Completely taken aback she blinked a few times. "What?"

"Your stance. It's not quite right."

"Oh."

"Raise your right arm a little more."

She looked at him and did as she was told, frowning when the bow and the arrow tip was raised. "Are your sure about –"

Her voice was cut short by her sharp inhale of breath. Vahlok stood behind her, his arms slinking around her sides to adjust her own arms. She was suddenly very aware of the fact that her back was pressed flat against his chest.

"You raised it too much," He commented softly in her ear and lightly nudged her elbow, causing her to lower her arm by what looked like the width of a hair. "There. Now you can relax the sting a little more because the height will give the arrow the arch you were trying to give it though the force of bow string."

Arriane's eyes fluttered at the tickling sensations his breath sent across her ear and neck, she was barely paying much attention to his words due to the fact that most of her energy was going towards keeping her heartrate steady and to not swoon. She didn't notice the shiver that ran down her spine. But he did.

"Are you okay?"

"Hmm? Oh! Uh, yeah. Of course…"

"Really?" She could hear the frown in his voice.

"Y-Yup. Just kinda cold." She lied; it wasn't hard to convince him. The weather already had the cold nipping at any exposed skin.

She felt his body relax a little as his hands moved to her upper arms. "Let's get you where it's warmer then," He murmured and absently rubbed his hands along the skin. "Come on." Warmth flowered inside her and she sighed softly as he led her back to the camp.

She managed a tiny smile when he sat her in front of the small ring of stones that would ring their fires at night. Vahlok was already snapping a few dry branches into smaller pieces and throwing them in.

"Vahlok?"

"Mmmh?"

"Can I help?"

He turned and stared at her. She could just make out his mouth hanging open. "Pardon?"

"I. Want. To. Help." She said flatly. "Why is that such a shock?"

"No reason! I just didn't think scrounging around for sticks would be something a woman would really want to do…"

"Well it is."

"Well okay then," He smirked at her and twirled a stick through his fingers. "Get to it."

With a stubborn nod she stood and stalked towards the forest. She was going to show him that she wasn't some pricy little girl that was too scared to get her hands dirty.

* * *

_Alright, that's chapter 2 down. Hope you enjoy it. I guess the only real comment I have to say is that I'll be going back and reformatting these chapters just to make it that little bit easier on the eyes. FF is just being a little hissyfitty with me when it comes to editing. So I'm just uploading the chapters as they are for now, just so you guys have some content then I'll focus on more in depth editing._


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